My friend recently picked up a 2009 VW Jetta Wagon w/ 6mt. He's been averaging 40+ MPG in a car that has a lot more utility and space than the Prius. Plus he's not going to have to "throw away" a crapload of batteries when they eventually expire. Long term operating costs are also more likely to be less because it's a standard drivetrain.

Modern Turbo Diesel's FTW!

-Brian

 

yeah stupid people on the Prius Bandwagon...

TDI FTW

 

You know youve got a good thread once alt characters are employed

 

if i had a Prius i'd want to paint it to look like bullet from Mario Bros.

 

I drive a Prius when I'm lugging the wife and kid around. I drive the STI, when it's me on the road and I wanna feel like a have a set.

 

haha yeah no sense wasting your STi miles with your kid in the car...oh yeah and wife lol

 

wow. $4.71 for gas just a year ago. HOPE it doesnt go that high anytime soon.

 

Well, premium gas is about $4.35 in my area right now...I say we will match that this summer

 

We didn't have a choice with the Explorer. True to Ford's namesake (Found On Road Dead) the Explorer just plain died on us. We're pretty religious in our maintenance too. The subcompacts you mentioned weren't an option for us either since they weren't even in the US market at the time we were looking for a replacement. Oh...and our cars are paid in full so no payments for us. Insurance is actually a bit cheaper since it has additional safety features the Explorer did not (additional airbags and traction control). We didn't go for the top of the line Prius. We just got the "saftety package" and that was enough. Total cost OTD was 23k. Not that much more than the Fit or Yaris and comparable in price to the Civic, Corolla, or Jetta.